Speech #910072012

Mr. Speaker. I am today introducing legislation to extend and expand the Migrant Health Service Act for 3 years. The present authorization expires June 30. 1970. This law was first enacted in September 1962. and was extended in 1965 and again in 1968 without changes in the basic law other than in the dollar authorization for the fiscal years. The bill that I am introducing would change the basic law to include nonmigrant seasonal agricultural workers and their families within the scope of the act. In the homebase areas. the migrant and the nonmigrant living next door are often indistinguishable from each other. They work side by side in the fields. and citrus groves. but the nonmigrant is excluded from health care services under the present law. Even where the nonmigrant meets the residency requirements in his homebase county. he seldom has access to a comprehensive and effective health care program. Too. the nonmigrant may have a history of past migration and may migrate again in the future. I believe that expanding the target homebase population to include these nonmigrant seasonal farmworkers will result in an overall reduction of health problems of both population groups. Too often the migrant worker and his family receive treatment for health problems under this program only to return to the field or to the living area and become exposed again to a disease carried by a nonmigrant worker. I am also including language in this bill to stimulate and foster more involvement of the allied health professions in public health work with migrant and nonmigrant workers and their families. Likewise. I am stressing in this legislation the importance of continuity of health care which is such a critical factor in the proper and effective delivery of health care to migrant workers and their families as they traverse the migration routes. Mr. Speaker. at the present time. 116 single- or multicounty projects now operate with migrant health grant assistance in 36 States and Puerto Rico. Yet. there are 900 of the Nations 3.000 counties that are annually temporary "homes" to migrants ranging in number from 100 to 40.000. These 116 projects reach 300 counties. but in the other 600 counties health care is sporadic and often crisis oriented. In my congressional district of Florida there are between 45.000 and 50.000 agricultural workers. Of these. 12.000 to 15.000 are resident local migrant workers who live in the district most of the year. but who travel to other areas during the off season. 15.000 are local workers who live in the district year around. 8.500 are foreign workers who cut sugar cane only. 8.500 are interstate migrants who come into the district for the peak farming season. and 4.000 are intrastate workers who migrate only in Florida from area to area as crops are ready. Nationwide. the migrant population continues to total approximately 1 million persons including workers and their families. There are two other points. Mr.